Private Investigators Plead Guilty to Hacking Conspiracies

Courthouse News Service

Shamuses Plead Guilty to Hacking Conspiracies
By NICHOLAS IOVINO

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Two private investigators have pleaded guilty to conspiring to hack into the computers, emails and Skype accounts of people that opposed their clients in civil lawsuits.   Nathan Moser, 41, and Peter "Bobby Russo" Siragusa, 59, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, accessing protected computers and obtaining information and intercepting electronic communications. Both men were indicted on federal charges earlier this year.

     The men own private-investigation firms in the Bay Area. Moser owns Moser and Associates in Menlo Park, Calif., while Siragusa heads Siragusa Investigations in nearby Novato.

     In exchange for pleading guilty, agreeing to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney and testifying against co-conspirators, Moser and Siragusa were both assigned a final offense level of 13 and will receive sentences of one to three years and fines of $3,000 to $30,000 under federal sentencing guidelines.  Both men faced a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and $750,000 in fines for the three offenses.  Their co-defendants - alleged hackers Trent Williams, of Martinez, Calif., and Sumit Gupta of Jabalapur, India, and one of Moser's clients, ViSalus' director of security Carlo Pacileo of El Segundo, Calif., still face charges related to the conspiracy.

     Moser said Pacileo hired him to investigate executives working for one of ViSalus' competitors, Ocean Avenue LLC, by obtaining unauthorized access to their computers.   "Pacileo paid for the hacking, either by paying the hackers directly, or by paying me and having me pay the hackers," Moser stated in the July 20 plea agreement.  The "conspiracy members" were paid approximately $38,950 to conduct the illegal activity, according to the plea agreements.

     In 2013, ViSalus filed three lawsuits against Ocean Avenue LLC and former employees that jumped ship to its competitor for allegedly violating non-compete clauses by soliciting Visalus' distributors. 

     Moser and Siragusa said they conspired to hire hackers, including co-defendants Williams and Gupta, to infiltrate the email accounts, Skype accounts and computers of three Ocean Avenue executives.   One of those executives, Kauri Thompson, sued Moser, Pacileo and ViSalus in Utah's Salt Lake County District Court this past March for allegedly stealing trade secrets and engaging in malicious cyber activity. Siragusa also ordered hackers to infiltrate computers belonging to an employee of Santa Clara-based design software company Silvaco to gain an advantage in his client's lawsuit seeking child support and employment benefits, according to the plea agreement.

     Moser and Siragusa entered their guilty pleas in open court on July 20. They will be sentenced on Nov. 2.  Siragusa is represented by Anthony Brass of San Francisco. Moser is represented by Katharine McClure of San Francisco.  Neither the U.S. Attorney's Office nor the men's attorneys returned requests for comment.




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FBI Press Relase

Private Investigators Indicted in E-Mail Hacking Scheme
February 11, 2015

SAN JOSE—Nathan Moser, Peter Siragusa, AKA Bobby Russo, Carlo Pacileo, Trent Williams, and Sumit Gupta, AKA Sumit Vishnoi, were charged with crimes related to a conspiracy to access the e-mail accounts, Skype accounts, and computers of people opposing Moser’s and Siragua’s clients’ in civil lawsuits, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.

A federal grand jury indicted Moser, 41, of Menlo Park, Calif.; Siragusa, 59, of Novato, Calif.; Pacileo, 44, of El Segundo, Calif.; Williams, 24, of Martinez, Calif.; and Gupta, 26, of Jabalapur, India, on January 15, 2015, charging them with one count of Conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030(b), six counts of Accessing a Protected Computer and Obtaining Information, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(2)(C), and two counts of Interception of Electronic Communications, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2511(1)(a). The indictment was unsealed in court in San Jose, Calif., yesterday.

According to the Indictment, Moser was a private investigator and owner of Moser and Associates in Menlo Park. Siragusa was also a private investigator and owner of Siragusa Investigations in Novato. Although Moser and Siragusa operated separate businesses, they often assisted in each other’s investigations. The Indictment further alleges that Williams and Gupta were computer hackers hired by Moser and Siragusa to access the e-mail accounts, Skype accounts, and protected computers of individuals without authorization. Pacileo was the director of security for ViSalus, a network marketing company based in Los Angeles and one of Moser’s clients.

The Indictment alleges that the object of the defendants’ conspiracy was to obtain information that would assist Moser’s and Siragusa’s clients, including Pacileo, in the clients’ lawsuits. According to the indictment, once retained by a client, Moser and Siragusa would hire Williams and Gupta, among others, to hack into the victims’ e-mail accounts, Skype accounts, and protected computers. In addition to that conduct, the defendants allegedly installed and used a keylogger—a tool that intercepts and logs the particular keys struck on a keyboard in a covert manner so that the person using the keyboard is unaware that his or her actions are being monitored—to obtain information that would assist Moser’s and Siragusa’s clients.

According to the Indictment, Ocean Avenue, a network marketing company based in South Jordan, Utah, was a competitor of ViSalus that had hired several former ViSalus employees. As a result, ViSalus initiated a civil lawsuit against Ocean Avenue employees. Pacileo hired Moser to investigate Ocean Avenue. Moser allegedly enlisted Siragusa to assist with the investigation, and together they hired hackers to illegally obtain information to assist in the lawsuit.

Moser, Siragusa, and Williams made their initial appearances in San Jose yesterday before the Honorable Paul S. Grewal, U.S. Magistrate Judge. Moser was released on a $100,000 bond, with his wife signing as surety and custodian. Moser’s next hearing is scheduled for identification of counsel today before Judge Grewal. Siragusa was released pending the filing of a $100,000 secured bond on or before February 20, 2015. His next hearing is scheduled for February 23, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. before the Honorable Edward J. Davila, U.S. District Judge, in San Jose. Williams, who remains in custody, has a detention hearing scheduled for February 13, 2015, at 1:30 p.m., before Judge Grewal.

Pacileo made his initial appearance in Los Angeles before the Honorable Ralph Zarefsky, U.S. Magistrate Judge, and was released pending the filing of a $25,000 secured bond on or before February 13, 2015. His next hearing is scheduled for February 23, 2015 before Judge Davila.

An arrest warrant has been issued by the court for Gupta, who is believed to be in India. FBI Agents in San Jose are working with the FBI office in New Delhi, India, to secure Gupta’s prosecution.

The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030(b) is five years custody, three years’ supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The maximum statutory penalty for each violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(2)(C) is 10 years custody, three years’ supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The maximum statutory penalty for each violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2511(1)(a) is five years custody, three years’ supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Matt Parrella and Michelle Kane are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Elise Etter. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.
This content has been reproduced from its original source.

Ahmed clock in a pencil case.

Tech guru removes clock interior from plastic shell / case below in seconds and inserts into same style pencil case.  Components are near identical.

Hmmmmm ... look familiar?  Near identical and took less than 20 seconds. 


STEP 1 - REMOVE SCREWS

STEP 2 - REMOVE CASE

STEP 3 -UNFOLD INTERNAL COMPONENTS

STEP 4 -LAY OUT FLAT LIKE AHMED'S

STEP 5 -PLACE IN PENCIL CASE FROM WALMART

STEP 6 -GET TWEET FROM THE PRESIDENT.

Soldier uses a GoPro camera to prove his estranged wife's abuse - and it catches her grabbing his genitals during a custody handover

Soldier uses a GoPro camera to prove his estranged wife's abuse - and it catches her grabbing his genitals during a custody handover

A former US Army Ranger from Florida has strapped a GoPro camera to his belt to catch his estranged wife forcibly grabbing his genitals during a contentious custody handover.

'This is just one of many instances where I've had to use the camera to either prove her guilt or prove my innocence and that's the only reason I am carrying it,' the solider, identified only as 'Michael,' told the station 10News.

Michael, a resident of Pinellas County, has been locked in a drawn-out custody battle with his spouse, 37-year-old Corinne Novak, over their 2-year-old twin boys. The couple are also in the process of getting a divorce.

The husband has accused Novak of domestic violence, and in order to prove his claim he took to tying a small camera to his belt using a parachute cord during his encounters with her.

Michael's GoPro was rolling when he met his wife last Thursday to exchange custody of their sons.

The video, obtained by 10News, opens with the retired solider reaching into the back of his car to unbuckle one of his sons. Suddenly, he lets out a scream and jerks his body back.

Upon closer inspection, the blurry footage shows what appears to be Corinne Novak's hand in the bottom right corner grabbing her estranged husband's testicles.

Novak is then heard off camera yelling at Michael: 'call the police. I'm gonna tell them that you just assaulted me.'

When Michael shared the video documenting his alleged assault with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, it was enough to have Corinne Novak arrested on a domestic battery charge.

Chapman Kids First program provides support during a split

Chapman Kids First program provides support during a split

Orange County Register
Sept. 13, 2015
Updated Sept. 14, 2015 10:18 a.m.

There’s nothing easy about divorce, but as parents deal with all the drama and legalities, there are muffled voices that too often go unheard – the children whose worlds are being split in two.

Kids First, a program operating out of Chapman University’s Smith Hall, has worked for nearly two decades to make sure kids are able to make it through the divorce process as smoothly as possible.

Chapman alumna Arione Capolupo is the associate clinical director for Kids First, but she started on the program’s first day as a student volunteer. Over the years, Capolupo has worked with over 5,000 families going through separations.

Growing up with divorced parents, Capolupo experienced a kind of stigma from her peers, whose parents were all still together. This personal connection attracted her to the program even before it began operations; she jumped at the chance to make a difference for kids with separated parents.

Since its inception, Kids First has worked in conjunction with Chapman’s Department of Psychology. Every semester, students from Chapman’s master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy program get involved with the program to help make a difference – not just for kids stuck in the divorce process, but for those with parents going through any kind of separation.

Kids First isn’t intended to replace therapy, but to serve as an educational opportunity for children to learn about divorce and to give them a chance to share their feelings. For eight weeks, children are divided into age-appropriate workshops by age, with ages ranging from 4 to 17.

Capolupo explains that younger kids are able to learn and express themselves easily through play, so workshops for younger visitors include a lot of games, puppet shows and other fun activities supplemented with basic education on emotions, the divorce process and coping methods.

Older children have two major activities to choose from, one being a mock divorce trial where kids play the parts of parents, judges and attorneys. While this allows kids to a unique way to express their feelings, it isn't the more popular option.

The more popular option – and one of the more emotionally charged of the Kids First offerings – is called “Kids First News.” In this activity, kids work together to come up with “interview questions,” which a representative of the group then asks all of the parents involved in the program. Parents can then volunteer to respond, which Capolupo explains often does a lot of good for both sides of the interview.

Most of the Kids First children are attending due to court order, and not everyone is happy to be there, but Capolupo says that by the time the program is done, she’s seen some impressive transformations.

“I’ve been in groups where the kids hated being there, but on the last day, they give me a hug and say, ‘You made it bearable,’” Capolupo said. “They say things like ‘I’m glad to know it wasn’t my fault,’ or ‘My dad’s not so bad!’”

Children with separated parents are caught in a difficult situation, with a laundry list of potential challenges. Battles for custody time can be especially harrowing – a 16-year-old girl that Capolupo once worked with was caught in a 10-year custody battle, and her parents traded custody of her every other day. They thought they were making sure she didn’t miss out on love from either parent, but the stresses of nonstop swapping only hurt her in the end.

Even in less dramatic cases, separation brings a plethora of problems. Some kids are made to play messenger between their parents, while some have to put up with each parent constantly bad-mouthing or trying to attain information on the other. Young kids tend to think that the separation is their fault, while teens face frustration in not having a voice in the matter. In some particularly unfortunate cases, children are exposed to the sordid details of the separation – that one parent had an affair, or even worse, that their parents never wanted a child in the first place.

Of course, parents have a lot of emotions to work through of their own in a divorce or separation, but Capolupo says they should focus on their child’s well-being above all else, asking, “Do you hate your child'’ other parent more than you love your child?”

“Your child should come first, your child needs come before your own. That means you get along with that other parent no matter how you feel,” Capolupo said. “The number one indicator of a child’s resilience and adjustment to the divorce is how the parents behave, that's a proven fact.”

Registration and more information on Kids First is available at kidsfirstoc.org.

Contact the writer: jwinslow@ocregister.com

   

Amber Telford - The Rest of the Story

 Amber Telford - The Rest of the Story

You probably remember former Utah jazz dancer  Amber Telford (33) was arrested, convicted and sentenced to 30 days in jail for having sex with a 17-year-old student of her dance studio. 

Paul Telford had a suspicion that his attractive wife, who owned and operated a dance studio at the time was having an affair, so he hired a private investigator to follow her.  

The married woman was video taped picking up the minor in the middle of the night and would have sex with him in her car, at her mom’s house (weird) and at her dance studio.

It was at the dance studio where the private investigator with video camera in hand, confronted them as they were under a blanket with their cloths strewn about the floor.

But as Paul Harvey would say, Now for the Rest of the Story.

The 17-year old boy, was the private investigator's own son! 

  

Tampa lawyer sues over anonymous online review in case with First Amendment overtones

Tampa lawyer sues over anonymous online review in case with First Amendment overtones

Tampa Bay Times
Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writer
Friday, May 29, 2015 12:45pm

If someone online makes false statements that anonymously trash your professional reputation, should you be able to find out who posted the review?

Yes, says Tampa divorce and family law attorney Deborah Thomson, a central figure in a precedent-setting case now on appeal in the state of Washington.

Thomson, 44, is a partner at The Women's Law Group in Carrollwood. Last year she filed a defamation suit against an anonymous reviewer on the attorney ratings website Avvo.com. She has asked courts in Seattle, where Avvo is based, to enforce a subpoena for information that would unmask her anonymous critic.

Among other things, she argues that the First Amendment does not protect defamatory speech.

"If there aren't some guidelines and some protections, it is very easy for any individual to go and post any kind of defamatory comment about anybody else when they feel like it, because they can hide behind the First Amendment," Thomson said Thursday after arguing her case to a three-judge panel in Seattle.

It's not a new question.

"This is a question that is sort of sweeping the country state by state," said David Ardia, an assistant professor of law and co-director of the Center for Media Law and Policy at the University of North Carolina School of Law. "Each state is kind of weighing in at its own time on this question, and not all states are in perfect agreement on what should be done."

Thomson's case has drawn opposition not only from Avvo, but from the nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen in Washington, D.C. They contend Thomson should have to meet a multi-part test that includes showing she has a legitimate claim that is likely to succeed in order to pierce her critic's veil of anonymity.

With Amazon, Microsoft and other tech companies based in Washington state, the case is seen as having an impact beyond Avvo.

"This is one of the national tech centers in the country, and the ruling in this case could affect the rights to speak pseudonymously and anonymously on a number of platforms," said Paul Alan Levy, an attorney for Public Citizen, founded in 1971 by consumer watchdog Ralph Nader. "If it's too easy to out your critics, the result will be that one side of the debate about the quality of businesses will be suppressed."

On Avvo, Thomson has 11 reviews.

Ten former clients praise her with headlines like, "Excellent attorney," "Experienced Grade A+ Lawyer" and "Very caring."

The 11th came from a reviewer who posted a critical review under the headline "Things to consider" in September 2013.

"I am still in court five years after Ms. Thomson represented me during my divorce proceedings," it says. "Her lack of basic business skills and detachment from her fiduciary responsibilities has cost me everything. She failed to show up for a nine-hour mediation because she had vacation days. She failed to subpoena documents that are critical to the division of assets in any divorce proceeding. In fact, she did not subpoena any documents at all. My interests were simply not protected in any meaningful way."

Thomson wrote a response that Avvo posted right below her critic's review. First, she said, the reviewer "was not an actual client of mine."

"This is a personal attack from someone that I know," Thomson added. Five years before, she said, she worked at a law firm where "any cases were not my own." She also said courts have procedural safeguards in place to ensure that cases don't drag on. She also said a mediation would not have taken place if an attorney didn't show up, and mediations are not scheduled for set blocks of time as described.

Thomson also noted Avvo does not verify what users post or whether someone writing a review was, in fact, an attorney's client.

But she didn't stop there.

In May 2014, Thomson sued her critic in Hillsborough County Circuit Court. She alleged defamation and issued a subpoena to Avvo seeking identifying information about the reviewer. In her lawsuit, Thomson called her critic Jane Doe. She said she thinks she knows Doe's identity, though she declined to share it last week. In court records, not even Doe's gender is acknowledged with any certainty.

Thomson said similar critical reviews about her appeared on Google and Yelp, both based in California, a state where judges have set specific standards for those seeking to expose anonymous online posters. After her subpoena to Google, the company reached out to Doe and when Doe didn't respond, Google took down the posting, Thomson said. She said she is in contact with Yelp.

A Washington trial judge denied Thomson's request to force Avvo to turn over Doe's records, saying she failed to sufficiently establish the case behind her defamation claim. Her appeal set up Thursday's hearing.

Anonymous free speech has a long history in the United States, going back to the Federalist Papers and beyond, and courts have protected anonymous speech under the First Amendment. They've also worked to create standards in defamation cases that balance the interests of people who have suffered real harm from false statements with the rights of anonymous speakers writing about important matters.

Generally, courts that have set these standards require some sort of proof showing that the plaintiff's claim is legitimate and likely to succeed on its merits, Ardia said. They also have required that the plaintiffs make an effort to notify the anonymous poster that their identity could be disclosed through a subpoena so they have a chance to defend themselves. And that can be hard, because the poster is, well, anonymous.

A Delaware court introduced a modified version of those standards, though its case was political, not commercial. A key question in Washington is what standard that state will adopt. Thomson and Levy said it could be months before they get a ruling.

"It has been a struggle," Thomson said, and there's "a feeling of helplessness when you find something like this online, and you realize that there's really nothing that you can do about it, which is why I'm pursuing this matter as hard as I am."

There were a rash of these cases a few years back, Ardia said, though the numbers seem to have tapered off. He said there might be a couple of possible reasons for that.

As judges set standards that require plaintiffs and their lawyers to meet certain requirements, some may be thinking twice about the expense of heading to the courthouse.

Also, there's the idea that court battles over online speech might be not be effective — and can even be counterproductive.

This is known as the "Streisand Effect," named for movie star and pop diva Barbra Streisand. In 2003, she filed an invasion of privacy suit over an aerial photo of her Malibu beach mansion posted on an environmental website that documents changes to the California coastline. In the three months before she sued, the photo of her home had been downloaded six times, twice by her lawyer. In the month after, the number of views rose to 420,000.

"Now," Ardia said, "it's part of the lore of the Internet that sometimes if you complain about something, you bring more attention to it."

Information from the San Jose Mercury News was used in this report.

Philadelphia Police-Corruption Probe story

Philadelphia Police-Corruption Probe story


Associated Press
April 16, 2015 3:39 PM

By MARYCLAIRE DALE

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A disgraced ex-police officer testifying against his drug squad colleagues acknowledged Tuesday that he stole drug money, planted evidence and lied on police paperwork too many times to count.

Jeffrey Walker told jurors that the Philadelphia Police Department drug squad targeted white "college-boy ... khaki-pants types" who were "easy to intimidate."

That matches the description of some of the drug dealers who have testified at the six-week police corruption trial that the squad stole as much as $110,000 at a time during violent, no-warrant raids.

Lead defendant Thomas Liciardello always got a cut of the stolen money, while the others split "jobs" that they worked, Walker said. The city's police brass often celebrated the squad's work with splashy news conferences to announce large seizures.

"They liked that, as far as the bosses and supervisors were concerned. It made them look good. It was nothing but a dog and pony show," Walker testified.

More than 160 drug convictions have been overturned since Walker pleaded guilty and the others were named in a 26-count indictment. Scores of civil-rights lawsuits are pending over the arrests. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey has voiced his disgust with the squad's alleged crimes while continuing his effort to clean out and reform the 7,000-member department.

Walker, 46, said he first stole money as a uniformed patrolman when he chased a dealer into a house and spotted a large bag of cash on top of the refrigerator.

"I never saw that much money. I was a young kid," Walker told jurors. "I took some money, put it in my jacket pocket."

Defense lawyers have attacked his credibility and will no doubt point out on cross-examination Wednesday the times he admits acting alone, even before he joined the elite undercover drug unit. He also said he developed a drinking problem and became forgetful.

Walker had nearly 24 years in when he was arrested in an FBI sting in 2013. He was making $119,000 a year, and padding overtime for court appearances and undercover work. The illicit drug money provided yet more "gravy."

Walker and defendant Linwood Norman were known as "The Twin Towers," often assigned by Liciardello to rough people up.

In one of their more memorable assignments, Norman leaned drug suspect Michael Cascioli over a high-rise balcony to elicit the passcode for his Palm Pilot, according to Walker, who helped scare the suspect.

City police officials later held a news conference to announce that the 2007 search had yielded more than $1.5 million in marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms, and $440,000 in cash. Federal prosecutors now say the squad raided the apartment before they got a warrant.

In another episode, Walker admitted carrying a heavy safe full of drug money down 17 flights of stairs to avoid being seen on the elevator security camera. And he described another heist when he stuffed so much bundled cash into his police vest that he had to wear Liciardello's vest over his to cover the bulges.

Walker agreed to cooperate after the FBI caught him stealing $15,000 from a suspect and planting drugs in his car. He has been in custody ever since and hopes to avoid a life sentence through his testimony.

Liciardello, he said, warned squad members not to change their spending habits so dramatically that they attracted attention. The other ex-squad members on trial are Brian Reynolds, Michael Spicer, Perry Betts and John Speiser.

Walker said he once worked closely with Liciardello and Reynolds but was ostracized as he went through a divorce, weight loss surgery and other personal problems. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen late Tuesday introduced a series of threatening texts Liciardello sent Walker once he suspected Walker was talking to Internal Affairs.

"Your now a rat I hope you die," Liciardello wrote. "I will have you locked up by midnight. Goodbye loner."

"You will be in jail before me," Walker replied.

That didn't quite prove true. Liciardello — the only defendant denied bail after the July 2014 indictment — was jailed a year after him.

LINK: > Philadelphia Police-Corruption Probe story